San Francisco Opera s Bizet s CARMEN Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12

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1 San Francisco Opera s Bizet s CARMEN Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12 LANGUAGE ARTS WORD ANALYSIS, FLUENCY, AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Phonics and Phonemic Awareness: Letter Recognition: Name the letters in a word. Ex. Carmen = C-a-r-m-e-n. Letter/Sound Association: Name the letters and the beginning and ending sound in a word. C-arme-n Match and list words with the same beginning or ending sounds. Ex. Micaëla and Mercédès have the same beginning letter m. Micaëla and Frasquita end with the same letters and ending sounds - a. Additional examples: Escamillo and La Remendado; Frasquita and Zuniga Syllables: Count the syllables in a word. Ex.: tor-e-a-dor Match and list words with the same number of syllables. Clap out syllables as beats. Ex.: 1 syllable 2 syllables 3 syllables bass = bass tenor = ten-or soprano = so-pra-no Phoneme Substitution: Play with the beginning sounds to make silly words. What would a boprano sound like? (Also substitute middle and ending sounds.) Ex. soprano, boprano, toprano, koprano. Phoneme Counting: How many sounds in a word? Ex. bell = 3 Phoneme Segmentation: Which sounds do you hear in a word? Ex. bell = b/e/l. Word analysis: Find words in Carmen that are unfamiliar and find definitions and roots, i.e. toreador. Listen for words in the French libretto of Carmen that have English cognates. Make a list of words that define a person s character, like honor, humility. Create symbols that represent those words. Examine contrasting vocabulary: rich and poor, master and servant, degrees of happiness and degrees of anger. Make lists of singular words that indicate a group of things, i.e. a battalion. Learn Opera vocabulary: soprano, mezzo-soprano, bass, quintet. Vocabulary Lists: Ex. Opera glossary, Music and Composition terms. Take lines from French libretto and place them in Google translate; do the supertitles match exactly? If not, why not? Concepts of Print: Sentence structure, punctuation, directionality. Parts of speech: Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, prepositions. Research the concept of exonyms (applicable to gypsies).

2 Reading Comprehension: Story Development: Character desires and motivation; Cause and effect: What made this happen? Sequencing of events, climax, resolution. Read: Source material for Carmen, Carmen libretto, letter from Bizet, biographies, etc. Read sections of the English translation of the libretto. Write a brief synopsis based on the libretto. Read Prosper Mérimée s Carmen, the novella. How does it differ from the opera? Types of text: Poetry, fairy tale, song text, libretto, script for media arts, biography, etc. Reading Skills: Build skills using the subtitles on the video and related educator documents. Read the supertitles for descriptive language in Carmen, especially vocabulary that describes the natural world. CREATIVE WRITING Creative writing: Interpret the story and create a new version. Create your own characters. Write about main characters before the story starts. Write about Carmen s childhood. How could the story have ended differently if characters had worked out their differences constructively? Write about a good character or an evil character. Put yourself in the position of one of the characters; make an argument for your philosophy of life. Explore different genres of writing: poetry, song text, libretto, script for media arts, biography, autobiography, short story, historical novel, etc. Explore literary devices such as the use of point of view, internal/external conflict, repetition of phrases, foreshadowing, building of tension. LITERARY RESPONSE AND ANALYSIS Elements of a Story: Character, plot, setting, conflict. Chart out the elements of the plot. Play 15-minute segments of the opera; students journal after watching the segments. Vocabulary: Reading for understanding using the subtitles on videos and related educator documents. Genres: Fantasy vs. Reality, fiction vs. non-fiction, novel, play. Study the different kinds of writing, like fiction and nonfiction, comedy and drama. What is the opera? Research different source materials for Carmen; how do they differ? What do they share in common? Explore biographies of the historical characters; write biographies of their real-life counterparts. How does their depiction in the opera correspond to historical accounts?

3 Themes: Examine the themes of the opera: Sexuality, Morality & Power Outsiders Jealousy Loyalty Destiny, fate Freedom Character actions and motives: How do the contrasting characters traits in Carmen drive the story forward? What are Carmen s character traits? Don José s? How do characters actions move story along? How could characters have changed their actions to alter the course of the story? What are characters real motives? Archetypes: The jealous man The woman who cheats The brave bullfighter The sweet, innocent girl Character Development: Analyze the characters in the opera. What motivates their actions? What are their main traits? How are characters developed through dialogue and soliloquy? How do characters change over course of opera? How could the characters have altered their actions for a more favorable outcome? How are characters affected by outside events beyond their control? How do they react? Which characters change the most? Examine character development: do the characters grow beyond their expected roles? Pick your favorite character in the opera and describe him/her. Write a letter from his/her point of view to another character. Contrast the actions and motivations of characters (particularly Carmen and Don Jose) in Carmen and discuss the importance of contrast to the plot or theme. Are there different sides to Carmen? Explain her contradictions. Have a debate about which side of her is dominant, or determines her fate. What role does fate play in the opera? Do the characters think they have free will, or do they think their fate is predetermined? Explore Carmen s attachment to personal freedom. What does that mean to her? Was that a common motivation for women of her time?

4 Figurative Language: Simile, Metaphor, Hyperbole, Personification, Allegory: Language style and music reflects emotion of characters, and instrumental sounds or musical phrases can be used symbolize character. Carmen is associated with castañets. Explore the use of metaphors in Carmen, ex. the Flower Song. Find analogies in Carmen. WRITING STRATEGIES Analysis and Interpretation: Expository writing, critiques/reviews Poetry, fairy tale, song text, libretto, script for media arts, biography, program, program article, synopsis, etc. Carmen production materials: artist biographies, program and program notes, synopsis, expository writing, critiques/reviews, etc. Examine the use of letters in operas or other works of art. How do they act as plot devices? How does Bizet grab attention at beginning of opera? How do writers grab the audience s attention? Read and report on program articles and reviews. Write your own review of a performance of Carmen. Compare and contrast two different versions of Carmen available on DVD. Rewrite libretto using today as a setting. Use contemporary characters: who would be Carmen today? Don Jose? Rewrite a scene from the opera, switching the genders of the characters. How does the scene change? Rewrite a scene, changing the ethnicities. How does it change? Persuasive Writing: Letter writing, copywriting: advertising, fundraising, press release. Write a series of letters from one character in the opera to another. Make sure they build on each other Example: Don Jose s mother writes to him urging him to come home. Scenes, letters, diary or blog pages can be written from a particular character s point of view; make sure to take relationships between characters into account. Diary pages could focus on how characters convince themselves to do something internal debate or use stream of consciousness. Pretend you re one of the characters in the opera; write daily diary entries for the characters. Write a diary entry from the point of view of Carmen or Don Jose as a child. Write or draw a deleted scene for the opera; a scene we hear about, but don t see. Persuasive writing: create posters, advertisements for one of the characters. Write a me poem for each of the characters: begin the poem with I am and list the characteristics of each person in separate phrases. Write parrot poems from the point of view of the characters. Parrot poems are conversational poems in which partners write each line in turn. Take a simple sentence like I am happy, and express it the way Carmen might. Write a passage expressing several characters inner thoughts at the same time. Writing exercise in which feelings are expressed like those in Carmen arias. Carmen stood up for unpopular causes. Write about a cause you would stand up for.

5 WRITTEN AND ORAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS Spelling: Spell the names of the characters in Carmen. Write a letter from Don Jose to Carmen and one from Escamillo to Carmen; write speeches they would present to her; how are they different? How is their language different? Examine the different types of language used in the opera, i.e. for fighting or for courting. How are they different? Watch different versions of the opera on DVD and write reviews. Read example reviews first. Debates between characters. Deliver persuasive speeches, identify tactics used. Write a monologue with two scenes based on the alternate points of view held by a single character. Facial cues, expressions, gestures can sometimes amplify message being delivered, or can sometimes run contrary to meaning of words. Analyze ensembles; how does music allow multiple people to say very different things at the same time? Can you do this in spoken word improv activity. LISTENING AND SPEAKING Oral Speaking: Connection between the written words and oral interpretation (recitative and sung), the phrasing and musicality of speech. Act out main events of the story, in tableaux or longer scenes. Improvise. Give small groups different scenes, and then act out in succession. Write a speech in the style of Carmen; how does it differ from the way we speak today? Write two speeches about the same thing; write one to be delivered to a friend, and one to be delivered to a person of authority. How does your language differ? Reflection: What did you see, think, hear and feel? Ex. Verbal & written responses to Carmen. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Bizet, composer, and Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, librettists: Biographies, timeline of works. Settings of play, opera. Where do characters come from? Examine the various versions of Carmen (plays, operas, films); how are they the same, how are they different?

6 ACTIVITIES Create a character sketches. Compare and contrast different characters, like Carmen, Don Jose, and Escamillo. What are their defining traits? How do they impact their fates? Story writing: Adapt existing source material; create story/characters. Or write new endings, deleted scenes. Libretto writing: Adapt Carmen (existing source material) or create a new story/characters. Write a new ending for Carmen. What would happen if Don Jose didn t murder Carmen? How would the opera be different? Create written copy: program, poster design, advertising, biography, etc. Read and report on the Feature Article from the opera program. Write a tabloid story about the love triangle or about Carmen s murder. Write an obituary for Carmen. Create a news report about Carmen using HyperStudio. Write a letter from one character to another; choose a moment in the story. Write a Dear Abby letter from one of the characters in the opera, and Abby s response. Read newspaper, magazine and web society pages and gossip columns: Write threads from one character to another. Write a blog post or design a fake facebook or myspace page for a character (exploring avatars public vs. private persona). Write fake twitter log for characters over the course of 24 hours. Have students create their own social scene. Create a society magazine, web magazine, talk show/entertainment program detailing the lives and intrigues of characters. Create diary/blog pages/twitter blasts/web avatars for the characters in Carmen. Conduct debates between characters. Using a letter from one character to another in the opera; edit the letter down to a tweet or Facebook post. Write an online dating profile for the characters in the opera. Play an and game to create a letter for Carmen. Stand in a circle. The first person starts with the phrase I love you, and the next person says I love you, and Continue until everyone has a turn. Create a storyboard of Carmen as a soap opera or telenovela. Summarize the opera in a comic strip with eight panels; this could also be a group activity. Create a board game for the opera, similar to Chutes and Ladders.

7 San Francisco Opera s Bizet s CARMEN Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12 MATHEMATICS ATTRIBUTES Comparisons in Carmen. Sorting and Classifying: What belongs, what does not belong, and why. Ex. Don José is different from the smugglers because he is a soldier. MEASUREMENT Carmen s Use of Standard Units of Measurement in Story & Set Design. 2D & 3D Dimensions: Area, Perimeter, Volume, Scale, Proportion, Ratio. Weight: Physical, Metaphorical, Balance. Time: Passage of time (real & theatrical time), times of day (morning, afternoon and night; yesterday, today, tomorrow; time of everyday events such as dinner & bed time), estimation, reading time, age of characters. Research Bizet s and the librettists salaries for Carmen. What is the proportion of one to another? What currency was used during Carmen s day? How much was it worth compared to today s money? What is the Spanish currency today? How much is it worth compared to American currency? How much did the average worker make in Spain during this time? Count the number of people who need to be paid when putting on an opera; use cast and company listings in the program to calculate. Estimate how many people are in large ensemble scenes. Taking into account all the people on stage, how much would such a scene cost, in Bizet s time and now? Measure the distance between Sevilla and Navarre. Look at maps of Spain, specifically the island of Gibraltar and Seville and surroundings; measure distances from Gibraltar to the coast and the city to the country. Count the beats in the quintet in Act II. How do the singers know when to start singing? GEOMETRY As found in Carmen s character, costume & set design. Identification of Shapes, Repetition & Pattern, Rhythm & Symmetry. Planes (Square, Rectangle, Triangle, Circle) & 3D (Cube, Pyramid, Sphere). Positive & Negative Space, Interior & Exterior Space.

8 Design or build a scale model of a bullfighting ring. What is the typical circumference of a bullring? What was the area of Spain during Carmen s time? What is it today? How would you adjust the scale of a set designed for the Civic Auditorium so that it could fit in the Opera House (the San Francisco Opera s production of Carmen moved from the Civic Auditorium to the Opera House)? NUMBER SENSE Counting using the production elements and music of Carmen. Formulas & calculations: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. More, less, or same as. Concept of zero (absences, disappearances. Ex. rests/silence in music. Ordering & sequencing. Recognizing and creating numerical patterns. Ex. beats, ABA pattern in music. What is the rhythm of the Habañera? Survey taking: tallying and graphing.. Who likes the opera? Who doesn t? Predictions. Make a list of singular words that stand for plural groups, i.e. battalion. ACTIVITIES Create a set for Carmen to scale. Design and play a board game based on the opera. Research remonetizing formula; how do economists determine how much money was worth then vs. now? Determine how long it would take the smugglers to get from Gibraltar to Morocco in a boat. Determine how long it would take Don Jose to travel from Navarre to Sevilla. How many cigarettes would they women in the factory be producing over the course of the day? How does that compare to how many a factory could produce today? How much would cigarettes have cost at the time of the opera? How much are they now? How much sales tax is on cigarettes now? Calculate how much a night at the opera would cost. What other kinds of businesses do opera patrons support? What are the statistics on arts organizations stimulating the local economy? What is the average price of an opera ticket? How does it compare to the price of other kinds of performances? How many seats do you need to fill to pay for the cost of producing an opera? What s the total revenue compared to the cost of producing it?

9 San Francisco Opera s Bizet s CARMEN Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12 SCIENCE The principals of science used in Carmen. THE FIVE SENSES: Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. What senses do you use while watching opera? PARTS OF THE BODY: Identification of body parts important to performing. Ex. Diaphragm, larynx, throat, mouth, etc. Examine the science of men and women and psychological and physical differences. How is your body physically affected when you re in love? What happens to your body when you bleed? When you cry? LIFE SCIENCES Research the life cycle of people, plants. Aging. Study the history of tobacco. How would cigarettes have been made in Carmen s time? Now? What are the ingredients? Study the effects of tobacco on the human body. How did Bizet die? Would he have died as young today? What was the life expectancy during the time of the opera? What dyes would have been used to color costumes when the opera first premiered? What dyes are used today? Do animals see colors? Why do toreros use red capes? How are bulls bred to be aggressive in the ring? What happens to bulls after their fights? PHYSICAL SCIENCES Explore times of day of different scenes in opera; how does lighting affect the mood? How does light work onstage, sets a mood in opera? What are principles of light? Explore different kinds of light: Cold, light, warm light. What are materials used in opera? Identify the materials, and identify their sources.

10 THE ELEMENTS Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, Air, Wood. How were the soldiers rifles made during the time of the opera? How are they made today? How would Don Jose s dagger have been made during the time of the opera? What kind of swords and daggers were used during the time of the opera? For bullfighting? Examine the history of metallurgy. PHYSICS Sound: Voice, Instruments, Acoustics, Amplification, Recording. ACTIVITIES List references to nature in Carmen. How did the gypsies find their way around the mountains? Did they use compasses? How do compasses work? Research the scientific discoveries of Carmen s time; what would she have known about the world? Replicate materials used in opera in a 2D manner, as a set designer would do. How do you make paper look like stone, wood?

11 San Francisco Opera s Bizet s CARMEN Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12 SOCIAL STUDIES PERSONAL CONNECTIONS Self-Identity & Cultural Identity. Family (Immediate & Extended), Friends & Community. Time: Past, Present, Future. Place: Neighborhood, City, State, Continent, World, Universe. CIVICS Social Hierarchy: Class, Status. Ex. royalty, servants. How is class indicated by the music, the costumes and other elements in Carmen? Study military hierarchy. What was Don Jose s rank? Political events during Bizet s time. What was the government of Spain during Carmen s time? Political events during Bizet s time. Labor / Economics: What jobs and occupations were available to men and women? What do average workers in different positions earn? GEOGRAPHY The Opera s setting: Where is this place? What is this Culture? Map locations mentioned in the opera, like Sevilla and Navarre. Map Spain during Carmen s time and now. How have the borders changed? Examine where you live; how does your environment represent your lifestyle or personality? Location of Bizet s birth. Where else did he live? Trace Bizet s travels and draw a map of the different places where he lived. HISTORY Research the time period when Carmen lived (1820); what are the historical personages who were alive at the same time? What pastimes would have been common Carmen s day?

12 Date when Bizet was born. Time period when Bizet lived. What are the differences and similarities to when Bizet lived in Europe and now? Research development of Carmen. How do new operas get made today? Research reception of Carmen, the play and the opera. Why did the opera initially fail and how was it revised? History of Opera: How Opera began, history of San Francisco Opera, history of the Adler Fellow Program. Research the history of opera and opera patrons. Is opera really an elite art form? ACTIVITIES Map settings in which play and opera take place. Create timelines of events in opera. Research the story of Carmen; was the story based on a real character? How does real life differ from fiction? What kind of social background or class did Carmen come from? What kinds of classes are represented in the opera? What are the differences between the social status of men and women in the opera? Explore Carmenʼs attachment to personal freedom. What does that mean to her? Was that a common motivation for women of her time? What were the ideals of beauty in Carmenʼs time, for both men and women? What would have clothes looked like for upper and lower classes? What class of people is admired in this opera? Who is despised? What are the class relationships in your school? How do you address different people in the hierarchy based on their relationship to you? How does clothing indicate what culture, status you belong to? Create a backstory for Carmen. Study different versions of Carmen; do they portray class differently? Why? What are the jobs of the characters in the opera? What are the relative importance of the jobs in the opera? Research the history of gypsies. Where can they be found? Is gypsies even an accurate term? Are there other types of nomads? Research Tarot cards and the prevalence of fortune-telling in different segments of society at the time. What was the social position of the army at the time the opera was set? Ethical implications of bullfighting. Is it still allowed today? Where? Why is it popular in certain cultures? Why not in others? Can you compare it to other sports in other cultures, like dog-fighting or boxing? Where can you find bullfighting rings today? Have a debate about whether or not it is ethical. Are there female bullfighters? Discuss the topic of smuggling, throughout history, in different countries. Why do people smuggle? What might they have been smuggling at the time that the opera is set? Where would they have been smuggling to? Could they make a good amount of money that way? Compared to being in the army or working in the tobacco factory? Study the process of industrialization in Spain. What are the conditions in the factory in which Carmen and her friends work? Study the history of the tobacco industry. Would women smoking have been accepted at the time of the opera? What objects would people have used in Carmenʼs time, as compared to now? For example, what did they use instead of electric lights? Instead of ballpoint pens?

13 San Francisco Opera s Bizet s CARMEN Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12 PHYSICAL EDUCATION MOVEMENT Walking, dancing, jumping, balancing, leaping, lifting, etc. Ex. Move your body in different ways using the example of each character. Act out how Carmen and Don José would walk. What are the differences? What about Don Alfonso? Practice walking to different tempi from the opera. What would Don Jose s military training have been like? Practice marches he may have learned. Choreograph a stage fight between Don Jose and Zuniga. Choreograph a bullfight; one student can play the torero, one the bull. Do the toreros have specific steps? Use a cape. Choreograph movements to different sections of the opera. Practice dancing to music from the opera. What music selections lend themselves to dancing? PHYSICALITY OF PERFORMING Endurance & strength, posture, breathing techniques. How does a singer prepare for performing? How does a torero train for a bullfight? What physical traits are necessary for bullfighters? TEAM-BUILDING Cooperative games encourage collaboration and build trust. Play number games, where students have to gather in groups of two, three, and so on. The object is to get together as quickly as possible. They can also be instructed to create pictures with their bodies, or move in unison. Construct relays around relationships between characters. Marching to the beat of a drum played by students. GRADE 9-12 *Example: Applying the Physical Education Standards to Bizetʼs CARMEN 2.1 Participate in moderate to vigorous physical activity at least four days each week. 2.2 Participate in challenging physical fitness activities using the principles of exercise to meet individual needs and interests. These standards could be met by bringing in a professional or a video on bullfighting and learning, then practicing the basic moves.

14 San Francisco Opera s Bizet s CARMEN Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12 HEALTH EDUCATION The unifying ideas of health literacy are as follows: Acceptance of personal responsibility for lifelong health Respect for and promotion of the health of others An understanding of the process of growth and development Informed use of health-related information, products, and services MENTAL & PHYSICAL HEALTH Taking care of your body. Ex. What do performers have to do to prepare their body for performing? Dealing with emotions, stress. Ex. Explore from the point of view of each character. Gender roles & body image. Family issues. Conflict resolution. Ex. How do the characters resolve their problems with each other? How don t they? Examine conflict resolution in the opera. Could the characters resolve their conflicts in non-violent ways? GRADE 6 California Health Standards *Example: Applying the Health Standards to Bizetʼs CARMEN 4.3.S 4.4.S 2.1.S 2.2.S 2.3.S Demonstrate escape strategies for situations in which weapons or other dangerous objects are present. Practice communication and refusal skills to avoid gang involvement. Discuss what Carmen could have done to avoid arguing and fighting with Don Jose. Discuss what Don Jose could have done to avoid the trouble that led to his joining Carmen's gang of smugglers. Analyze the role of self and others in causing or preventing injuries. Analyze influences on both safe and violent behaviors. Analyze personal behaviors that may lead to injuries or cause harm. Discuss the culture of violence in Carmen and the ways that it lead to Carmen's death and Don Jose's impending imprisonment.

15 1.1.A 1.2.A 1.4.A 1.5.A 1.6.A 2.1.A 2.2.A 2.4.A 1.7.M 1.8.M 1.9.M 4.1.M 4.2.M 4.3.M 4.4.M Explain short- and long-term effects of alcohol, tobacco, inhalant, and other drug use, including social, legal, and economic implications. Identify positive alternatives to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. Identify the benefits of a tobacco-free environment. Explain the dangers of secondhand smoke. Explain the stages of drug dependence and addiction and the effects of drugs on the adolescent brain. What is the impact of smoking on the human body? Discuss the role of cigarettes in the lives of the women who work in the factory in Carmen. Do they have any scientific information about the dangers of smoking? What if one of them didn't smoke but worked in the factory with the other women who did and spent time with them on their breaks? Would she be vulnerable to the dangers of smoking? Describe internal influences that affect the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Analyze the influence of marketing and advertising techniques, including the use of role models and how they affect use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Explain how culture and media influence the use of alcohol and other drugs. Discuss the culture of smoking in Carmen and the song that the cigarette girls sing about it in Act I. Describe the importance of setting personal boundaries for privacy, safety, and expressions of emotions and opinions. Describe the similarities between types of violent behaviors (e.g., bullying, hazing, fighting, and verbal abuse). Discuss the harmful effects of violent behaviors. Discuss ways in which the characters lack the skills to share their emotions in a healthy way. Discuss how their reliance on fighting and verbal taunting affects their relationships and their lives. Practice asking for help with mental, emotional, or social health problems from trusted adults. Describe how prejudice, discrimination, and bias can lead to violence. Demonstrate ways to communicate respect for diversity. Demonstrate the ability to use steps of conflict resolution. Discuss the history of the Gypsies (Romani) in Europe and how this affects how people view Carmen. Discuss the culture of violence in Carmen and how the use of threats and fighting are directly linked to the tragic ending. What are some other possible outcomes if the characters had practiced conflict resolution? Examine the theme of jealousy in the opera. How is your life affected by jealousy? Examine the theme of obsession in the opera. How does it impact the characters? How are characters influenced by their peers in the opera? Is the influence positive or negative? What was Carmenʼs self-image? How did Georges Bizet deal with the criticism of his work? Carmen was a flop when it first opened.

16 San Francisco Opera s Bizet s CARMEN Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12 CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION Jobs at the Opera. Explore backgrounds and training of people who work at the Opera. Examine the structure of the guild system, including apprentices, journeymen and masters. Are there still similar work structures in use today? Examine the idea of craftsmanship. How are we revisiting craftsmanship during our era of mass production? What do the different departments of the opera do (Marketing, Education, Development, IT, Production)? How does the opera support other types of jobs in San Francisco? What are the professionals outside the opera who make the opera happen? Police, fire, caterers, etc. Compare jobs at the opera to jobs in other art forms, like film. Organizational chart of San Francisco Opera. Assign jobs from the opera to students in the classroom. Who would be Don José? Who would be Carmen? What would be the most coveted jobs? What would be the most important jobs? How are jobs different now from then? Compare jobs that are top-down, vs collaborative (i.e. working in an office vs. working on a fishing boat). Following instructions vs. creative skills. How did people get jobs in Bizet s time? In Carmen s time? What were jobs available to women and men in Spain at the time of the opera? How is it different now? How would people do work differently in Carmen s or Bizet s time? How would they be limited by available technology? What kinds of skills did they need that they don t need today? *Example: Applying the Career and Technical Standards for the Visual & Performing Arts to Bizetʼs CARMEN GRADES Visual and Performing Arts Specific applications of Dance standards at the proficient level (grades nine through twelve): (4.1) Describe how the qualities of a theatrical production contribute to the success of a dance performance (e.g., music, lighting, costuming, text, set design). Discuss how all of the above theatrical elements work to contribute to the success of any theatrical, musical, or dance performance.

17 San Francisco Opera s Bizet s CARMEN Curriculum Connections California Content Standards Kindergarten through Grade 12 VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS MUSIC STORYTELLING & MUSIC: WHAT IS AN OPERA? Character and plot development through musical themes. What is the difference between major and minor keys and how do changes between keys help tell the story? How do instruments represent characters and emotions? Identify repetition and variation of themes. Can you hear recurring musical motifs in the opera? How do they represent different themes? Can you write your own motif for yourself or characters in the opera? How does music associated with a particular character reflect their class or status? Why is Carmen a mezzo-soprano? How does this differ from how female voice types are usually used in opera? Call and response between singers and instruments. Musical moods. Legato vs. staccato, adagio vs. allegro. How does Bizet s music set a particular mood (or moods) in the opera? Explore how the composer creates different kinds of music for different moments in the story. Key plot points: The composer and librettist determine the placement of arias and ensembles within the libretto to heighten emotion in the story. What is the function of the orchestral music (prelude and interludes) in the opera? How does it help tell the story? How does orchestral music enhance what characters are singing? How does it act as another character? Definition of overture. How is orchestra set up in pit? What are instruments in an orchestra? Tuning of different instruments. Source material for Opera: Novels (Puccini s La Bohème, Tan & Wallace s The Bonesetter s Daughter); Films (The Fly), Real-life events (Heggie s Dead Man Walking, Adams Nixon in China; Related genres Musical Theater (Sweeney Todd, Rent), Rock Opera (Tommy), popular song versions of opera. VOCABULARY Musical Structure: Solos, duets, trios, quartet, quintet, choral numbers. Composition: Arias, recitative, overture, incidental music. Musical Instructions: Tempo, legato; pianissimo; crescendo, etc. Voice ranges: Soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass-baritone, countertenor, bass. Identify voice parts of different characters.

18 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Research the history of San Francisco Opera, the Adler Fellows program. Research famous mezzo-sopranos who have played the role of Carmen. Georges Bizet: Biography, timeline of works, signature sound within genres: piano pieces, symphonies, operas. Research other musicians working before or at the same time as Bizet; how was he different from everyone else? What kinds of composers came after Bizet? Why didn t people like Carmen at its premiere? What changed so that it s so successful now? What were common topics of operas during Bizet s time? Research the style of Bizet s music. Castanets are used in the opera; what are they, where do they come from, and how are they used? ACTIVITIES Listen to multiple recordings of Carmen and study different interpretations. Learn and memorize songs from Carmen. What is the rhythm of the Habañera? Write a rap to go above the beat. Play the drum rhythms that the children play in Act I. Create and perform songs for the characters/events of Carmen using instruments and voices. Find ringtones that would be appropriate for the different characters in the opera. Compare versions of the opera in which the dialogue is sung and spoken; what difference does that make? Pick different sections of the opera and count the beats. Compare and contrast quintets from different operas. Is singing together in harmony hard or easy? Try it out in your class. Graph out characters in the opera; while watching a clip of the opera, fill out chart describing look, movement, voice of each character. How does the director tell the story through these details? Graph out characters in the opera; while watching a clip of the opera, fill out chart describing look, movement, voice of each character. How does the director tell the story through these details? Explore musical instruments used in this opera; have they changed since Bizet s time? Recreate the opera s story using different styles of music. Ex. Carmen: the hip hop opera. GRADE 5 *Example: Applying the Visual and Performing Arts Standards for Music to Bizetʼs CARMEN Artistic Perception 1.4 Analyze the use of music elements in aural examples from various genres and cultures Listen to the Habañera and discuss its origins as a Cuban dance (and song) form based on the contradanza and the Seguidilla as a Castillian dance and folksong, as well as their place in Spanish music and culture. 1.5 Identify vocal and instrumental ensembles from a variety of genres and cultures: Listen to the quintet from Act II and compare and contrast it to other operatic quintets such as, La Cenerentola, Cosi fan tutte, Vanessa, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Marriage of Figaro (sextet)

19 1.6 Indentify and describe music forms, including theme and variations Listen to the fate motif in the overture of Carmen and identify the later use and Bizetʼs purpose in writing it at particular moments in the story. Role of Music: 3.1 Describe the social functions of a variety of musical forms from various cultures and time periods (e.g., folk songs, dances). Listen to the Habañera and Seguedilla and discuss how they were brought into Spanish culture from other countries. GRADES 9-12 Music (Advanced Level): (5.1) Explain ways in which the principles and subject matter of music and various disciplines outside the arts are interrelated. Watch Carmen and research the origins of both the Habanera and the Seguidilla. Does this particular Carmen attempt either of these dance forms as she is singing? VISUAL ARTS How are line, color, shape, and texture used in costumes and sets of Carmen? LINE Use of line qualities: soft or hard, wavy or angular, silly spirals. COLOR Symbolism of color; color associated with particular characters. How do colors of costumes define characters? Symmetry/contrast in character pairings. Ex. Carmen/Don José. Examine contrast of light and dark; use of lighting. The emotion of color. Ex. red=passionate, blue=calm, yellow=cheerful. Revealing character traits through the use of color how do the characters costumes, including fabrics and colors, reflect their status? What colors would you use for different moments in the opera? Explore personal associations with color. The use of lighting to establish mood and setting. SHAPE The use of shape in character design. Positive & Negative Space the stage is a frame. TEXTURE Texture: Material use in sets and costumes. Visual Texture: Pattern and repetition in sets and costumes. How is texture used to convey status?

20 SPACE Set design: From 2D plans to 3D construction. ACTIVITIES Create caricatures for the characters. Masks: Create masks of the characters in Carmen. Design your crest, like one the soldiers might wear in Carmen. Design or build a model of a bullfighting ring. Create a storyboard for the opera. Create a comic strip of the opera. Create a diorama of a scene in the opera. Create illustrations and storyboards outlining the plot of Carmen. Free-association drawing to music. Ex. Maurice Sendak s Fantasy Sketches. Design a production of Carmen: dioramas, scale models, backdrops, props, costumes. Puppetry: Create your own version of Carmen using puppets (paper bags, stick puppets, shadow puppets, marionettes, and bunraku). Design character make-up, costume, sets and props for classroom operas. Listen to audio-only examples prior to viewing the opera. Choose design elements based on the music and text. Draw silhouettes of characters; draw characters in other styles, like anime. Create an advertisement for a performance of Carmen. It could be a poster or a newspaper ad, or something else. Consider that your poster could become a piece of fine art, like vintage opera posters are today. Compare two different filmed versions of Carmen; which visualization is more effective and why? How are colors used and what do they stand for? Research the clothing of Carmen s time; create costume designs for the characters, along with hats. Create the costumes using materials at hand. What colors would the different characters wear? Assign students to be patrons and others to be artists; patrons commission artists to create portraits using certain instructions. Explore scale in production design; how do imposing sets make people look small? How do you make something that fits on an opera set? What is the scale of a tree on a set? RELATED WORKS OF ART Opera & Visual Art: Study the work of visual artists who have designed performing arts productions: Gerald Scarfe, David Hockney, Julie Taymor, Marc Chagall, Maurice Sendak, Oskar Kokoschka, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, William Kentridge, Gianni Versace, Bill Viola. Illustrated children s books of Carmen and other operas. If possible, see 3D version of Carmen. How does it enhance the experience of seeing the opera? If you can t see the 3D version, can you imagine how it would enhance the experience? Study Spanish art of Carmen s time.

21 GRADES 9-12 *Example: Applying the Visual and Performing Arts Standards for Visual Arts to Bizetʼs CARMEN Visual Arts (Advanced Level): (5.2) Compare and contrast works of art, probing beyond the obvious and identifying psychological content found in the symbols and images. THEATRE Examine storyline, character development through theater games (similar to writing exercises in ELA connections). Practice movement required for crowd scenes. How do individuals act like individuals in a crowd scene? Practice walking like Don Jose and Escamillo. How are their walks different? Practice walking like a member of the opposite sex. How do you carry yourself differently? How are the characters emotions communicated in their walk? Watch different versions of Carmen. Notice staging decisions that different stage directors make. How do they affect how you see the characters and the story? In different versions of Carmen, how do the performers convey their emotions using facial expressions? Practice facial expressions that different characters would use. How do performers move onstage differently than offstage? How do they have to move so that the audience can translate their movements? How do the performers act when they re singing their thoughts vs. singing to each other? What are the differences between real weapons and stage weapons? STAGING Stage vocabulary: Upstage, downstage, levels, blocking. Theater Exercises: Tableaux, pantomime, improvisation, vocal projection. How does a scene fill the space on a stage? Stage etiquette & audience behavior. THEATRE JOBS Opera Production Team: Director, stage manager, choreographer, designer, diction coach, artistic administrator, choreographer, lighting, adaption, abridgement, supernumeraries, etc. In-House Personnel: Marketing, accounting, ticket takers, ushers etc. ACTIVITIES Act out scenes about the themes from the opera: revenge, jealousy, friendship and loyalty, etc. Act out characters and emotions in gestures: shyness, snobbery, bravado, persuasion. How can you exaggerate gestures to show emotion? Other students guess who you are. Act out scenes from opera in different settings and times (ex: Carmen set in a village in China).

22 Students pick characters to portray; determine how they would act out story. Examine how characters play off each other. Partnering. Create movement and gestures to react to particular lines of the libretto. Create movement to react to particular musical moments. Create tableaux of different scenes. Improvise prologues and epilogues to the story. Study the techniques of stage fighting. Choreograph a stage fight. Choreograph the last scene of the opera. Research the different actors who have played Carmen, Don Jose, and Escamillo. Study death scenes and act out convincing death scenes for Carmen. GRADES 9-12 *Example: Applying the Visual and Performing Arts Standards for Theatre to Bizetʼs CARMEN Theatre (Advanced Level): (4.2) Draw conclusions about the effectiveness of informal and formal productions, films/videos, or electronic media on the basis of intent, structure, and quality of the work. (5.3) Communicate creative, design, and directorial choices to ensemble members, using leadership skills, aesthetic judgment, or problem-solving skills. DANCE Dance and Creative Movement in Stage-Blocking. How is dance incorporated into the opera, into the music of the opera? How are dances used in operas? How is age and gender communicated through the way performers move in a dance? What are the roles of choreographers, dance captains and dancers? (See Phys Ed section.) ACTIVITIES Character Dances: Mirror dancing partners and symmetry. Match movement with vocabulary. Ex. glide, slither, leap, tremble. Interpret emotions through dance. Ex. Joy, fear. Interpreting the instruments through dance improv to music. Choose a dance style that best represents each character. Ex. Carmen and Don José. Find the dance music in the opera. Examine the history of the different dances, the habanera and the seguidilla. Create partner dances for characters in the opera. Choose whether they mirror each other or are opposites. Create a movement exercise in which Carmen is at the center, and the two students playing Don Jose and Escamillo move around her but have to stay at an equal distance.

23 GRADES 9-12 *Example: Applying the Visual and Performing Arts Standards for Dance to Bizetʼs CARMEN Dance (Proficient Level): (3.2) Describe ways in which folk/traditional, social, and theatrical dances reflect their specific cultural context. (4.1) Describe how the qualities of a theatrical production contribute to the success of a dance performance (e.g., music, lighting, costuming, text, set design). Discuss how all of the above theatrical elements work to contribute to the success of any theatrical, musical, or dance performance. Dance (Advanced Level): (3.1) Identify, analyze, and perform folk/traditional, social, and theatrical dances with technical accuracy and appropriate stylistic nuances. (3.2) Analyze the role dancers and choreographers play in the interpretation of dances in various historical and cultural settings. (3.3) Compare and contrast universal themes and sociopolitical issues in a variety of dances from different cultural contexts and time periods. MEDIA ARTS Research how innovations in technology have influenced the development of Opera: Acoustics and Lighting, Audio Recording, Film and Video, the development of Supertitles, Internet. Learn about technology currently used by SF Opera: Technology used in staging, SFO s Media Suite, podcasts, cinemacasts, simulcasts, opera vision, etc. Learn about experiments in future technology use involving opera, such as the development of Personal MIT Media Lab, Death and the Powers. Use television, films, web content to teach media literacy. Opera & Popular Culture: Cartoons (Bugs Bunny in What s Opera, Doc?, The Wabbit of Seville); Television (Sesame Street); Movies (The Godfather); Commercials (Nike s 1993 ad Charles Barkley of Seville); Event themes (Nessun Dorma World Cup). Watch DVD of Carmen and other operas. Watch different productions and compare. Research clips of Carmen found on the Internet, including different filmed versions. Look at filmed versions of the Carmen story, like Carmen: A Hip-Hopera; Carmen Jones and Carmen by Jean-Luc Godard and Ernst Lubitsch. There are even comic films by Charlie Chaplin, Looney Tunes cartoons that feature the Carmen character. ACTIVITIES Film and Animation: Explore photographic stopmotion techniques. Ex. Use digital media to create 1-minute scenes from Carmen. Ex: Pioneer animator Lotte Reininger s version of Carmen was animated with cut paper silhouettes. There is even a stop-motion short by Sesame Street featuring an orange sings the Habañera. Storyboard the opera. Create a poster to advertise a performance of Carmen. What information needs to be included? What typeface would be appropriate?

24 Create a fake blog or Facebook or Twitter page for one of the characters. Which social media platform best represents each character? Share your opera knowledge about Carmen on a wiki. Create a blog about your experiences studying and viewing the opera. Recreate the opera in play form; write a script for it and videotape it. Create a montage of scenes from the opera to tell the story. Use digital audio to record student readings, musical performances. Create a 30-second audio spot, a commercial, a one-minute podcast, and/or a Carmen activities website. Create a video news report about your experience of seeing the opera. Create a video news report, interviewing characters in the opera at crucial moments. What would be the best moments for this time of report? Explore history of opera recordings some of the earliest recordings.